original artwork by @gabrielcraft.me · Gabriel Craft | 2014 // Japanese sumi ink on recycled paper
the past is no longer
the future is unknown
the present moment is truth
When I made this piece, I was suffering:
abandonment,
loss of a partner, &
alienation from my only child.
The recent past was more painful than I had experienced.
It was confusing, unknowable, and absurd.
Every attempt to understand it felt futile.
The future was unknown with no clear path ahead, and I was tempted to be fearful of it.
I made this mantra,
I penned it on piece of paper,
I hung it on my wall,
and I looked at it everyday when I woke up:
the past is no longer
the future is unknown
the present moment is [the only] truth
After reading I would climb out of bed, offer gratitude for just that moment and then move on to the next moment.
I could breathe.
I could sit.
I could walk.
I could work.
I could keep going.
That was enough.
It is still enough.
Whoever you are,
wherever you are—
know this:
Your only truth is here, now.
There is very little you need to do
in this moment.
I wish peace for you.
My inspiration for this piece came from Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh:
“The past no longer exists, and the future is not here yet.
The only moment in which you can be truly alive is the present moment.
Breathing in, I arrive.
Breathing out, I arrive.”
📚 Suggested Thich Nhat Hanh readings
You Are Here: Discovering the Magic of the Present Moment
(Accessible, healing, and a balm for suffering)
Handbook for the Spirit
(With reflections by Thich Nhat Hanh, Ram Dass, Jack Kornfield, and others)
Please request permission before using or reposting my artwork or my text.
— Gabriel Craft
@gabrielcraft.me
All works are original and Creative Commons License